15 April 2005 at 08:58

some others, I do have them

As well as my 2.5 friends, I have inherited Cassandra's social circle, which fortunately incudes some good people, but to call them my friends would be cheating.Old friends from overseas blow into town occasionally, and that's pretty special. My dear old school mate Bill Howie was here in January, reconstituting himself after the break-up of a long association with a Spanish woman. For 10 years she was a true soul mate but now she's unmasked as a gold-digging narcissist. Great to see him, I did a video interview with him, which he was then able to compare with the video we shot last year in happier times.

I find video interviews an enjoyable way of commemorating important 1-to-1 meetings with people you don't see very often. The interview can be 2-way, e.g. you split a one-hour tape between you, focussing on each person for about 30 minutes. I have done interviews in parks, at a beach, in people's kitchens and in the middle of nowhere.

Bill is pretty upfront about this, and Bill isn't his real name anyway, so I don't think he'd mind me saying that in Spain he sometimes rides his motorbike dressed as a woman, and men buy him drinks in bars, thinking he's female. If you're reading this Bill, send us a photo and I'll stick it here. Funny how people's lives unfold. We spoke about going to an "old boys" school reunion dinner next year, at the rugby pavilion, he in drag as my partner, neither of our lives a conventional success story.